Taking a lesson from a year-long delay in the recently completed sports-betting lounge at Hartford’s XL Center, the Capital Region Development Authority plans to sign an agreement with local unions to ensure a ready supply of trained labor for the venue’s broader $100 million renovation.
The sports lounge, part of a $20 million package of upgrades, was originally intended to open for the fall 2022 football season, creating another draw for downtown Hartford and adding an amenity to a building that has struggled to bring in acts.
Instead, the betting lounge opened this past September, a delay Freimuth blames on a snarled supply chain and difficulty accessing adequate labor.
Now, as the CRDA prepares to launch a grander $100 million, two-year XL Center reconfiguration and repair program, Freimuth is hoping to avoid some of the same pitfalls. Material, especially electronic switchgear, will be ordered well in advance and stored, he said.
A project labor agreement will mean paying a premium for some trades, Freimuth conceded in a meeting with his board Monday morning. But it will also guarantee access to trained pools of labor and ensure predictable labor rates negotiated in advance, he said.
“The anxiety I have at this hour is we are on a very tight two-year window,” Freimuth said. “We are going to disrupt the building’s operations. We are going to shut the building down at periods. And we can’t afford hiccups in bids. We can’t afford hiccups in the schedule.”
The CRDA board voted on Monday to allow Freimuth to negotiate a project labor agreement with local unions.
The planned project will reconfigure the stage and some seating, to create in-demand premium seating areas close to the stage. It will also improve loading and unloading areas, a key component in attracting shows. The plan will also address long-deferred maintenance.
Freimuth said Monday he expects bids for various portions of the job to come in over the next six to eight weeks, allowing the agency to know if the project will fall within the $100 million budget. The CRDA would then approach the state Bond Commission to tap $80 million approved in Gov. Ned Lamont’s two-year state budget for the XL Center renovation.
CRDA would also then be able to finalize an agreement granting international entertainment company OVG a long-term contract to manage the facility. In return, OVG would invest $20 million in the renovation.
